Chapter 26. 2nd Conquest (5/6)- The end of the Hobgoblin (1)
Carlos moved aside and watched the crescent blade strike the dirt where his shoulder had been.
He thrust toward the Captain’s throat with complete focus.
There was no point hesitating anymore.
He remembered what he had been taught before becoming a Lord.
A single second of hesitation could kill a Lord.
The Hobgoblin pulled its weapon back and caught the spearhead against the glaive’s shaft.
Both weapons stopped for a second.
Then Carlos was pushed backward.
The Captain did not seem to move at all.
It stood like an unmoving boulder.
For some reason, its smile widened as it twisted the glaive.
Carlos’s spear was thrown aside, and the metal end of the weapon struck his vest.
He flew backward into the shield formation.
The Goblin Warriors stabbed at him, making Carlos drop to the ground.
Three swords passed over his head.
He rolled between two shields and swept his spear behind the Warriors’ legs.
One fell immediately.
Carlos stabbed upward through its stomach.
[Goblin Warrior eliminated]
A shield struck the side of his face.
--
HP: 238/360
--
Carlos was thrown back into the road.
His jaw felt as though it might break apart the moment he opened his mouth, but it held.
The Captain moved toward him while the five remaining Warriors closed their formation.
The Dire Wolf circled the cart, trying to reach One.
The Beastmaster remained behind everyone.
It had not attacked even once.
It only watched and issued commands through different whistles.
’That is the real problem.’
Carlos took the final Barbed Javelin from his inventory.
The Captain expected him to throw it at him, so it moved the glaive in front of its body.
But Carlos aimed past it and threw the javelin toward the Dire Wolf.
The beast tried to move, but One fired at its front legs at the same moment.
The slime had been watching everything unfold and recognized the opportunity.
The Water Shot ruined the wolf’s footing, and the javelin entered behind its shoulder.
The Dire Wolf screamed.
[Dire Wolf HP: 284/420]
It turned and bit down on the wooden shaft.
The barbs tore deeper when it tried to pull the weapon free.
[Dire Wolf HP: 251/420]
The Beastmaster whistled sharply.
The wolf stopped biting the javelin and charged Carlos despite its wound.
The Captain charged at the same time, recognizing the opportunity.
Carlos stood his ground.
One enemy came from the left.
The other came from the right.
He waited until both were close.
Then he jumped backward.
The Dire Wolf seemed almost rabid now, forcing itself through the pain simply because of an order.
That made Carlos’s next plan easier.
The Captain swung its Heavy Cleave while the Dire Wolf was still in the weapon’s path.
The Beastmaster changed its whistle as though its life depended on it.
The wolf immediately flattened itself against the ground.
The glaive passed above it and continued toward Carlos without killing or seriously wounding the beast.
Carlos raised his spear.
The two Uncommon weapons collided.
CRACK!
Carlos’s hands went numb.
The glaive cut halfway through the reinforced shaft.
But it did not break.
Carlos saw the Barbed Javelin and kicked the shaft still buried inside the wolf.
The Dire Wolf screamed again and rolled away in unbearable pain.
Carlos moved around the Captain before it could recover its weapon.
The five Goblin Warriors blocked his path to the Beastmaster.
"One, the one in the middle!"
A Water Shot struck the center shield.
The Warrior braced against it.
Carlos struck the same shield with his damaged spear.
Luck was on his side.
The wooden shield cracked.
Another Water Shot struck it when Carlos shouted, and the shield finally broke apart.
Carlos thrust through the opening.
[Goblin Warrior eliminated]
Four Warriors remained, and they attacked together.
Carlos pulled the dead goblin toward himself and used its body as a barrier.
Two swords entered the corpse.
He pushed the body into them.
One Warrior fell backward.
Carlos stepped over the corpse and stabbed the goblin before it could stand.
[Goblin Warrior eliminated]
The Captain roared behind him.
Carlos turned.
Heavy Cleave struck the dead Warrior he was holding.
The crescent blade passed through the corpse and cut into Carlos’s Reinforced Leather Vest.
The armour split beneath the impact like thin cloth.
A red line opened across his chest.
--
HP: 157/360
--
Carlos stumbled.
The Captain pulled the glaive back for another strike.
One hit it in the face with a Water Shot.
The attack dealt almost no damage, but water entered the Hobgoblin’s eyes.
Carlos saw an opportunity to run.
But his mind was too far gone now.
He did not run away from the Captain.
He ran toward it.
Carlos stepped inside the glaive’s reach and drove the broken section of his spear shaft into the Captain’s throat.
The Hobgoblin immediately choked, unable to understand what had happened during that split second of weakness.
Carlos did not give it time to recover.
He struck again.
The Captain released one hand from its weapon and grabbed Carlos by the neck.
Its fingers closed around him like iron.
Carlos could no longer breathe.
He lifted both feet as a desperate last attempt and kicked the glaive from the Captain’s other hand.
The Captain, enraged by the pain in its throat, threw Carlos into a wall.
--
HP: 119/360
--
Carlos fell beside the Uncommon glaive.
The three remaining Warriors moved toward him.
He only had to look at the Captain’s weapon once to know what he needed to do.
Carlos picked it up with both hands.
It was heavier than his spear, but he could lift it.
The first Warrior raised its shield.
Carlos grinned and swung.
He could see the hesitation in the goblin’s eyes when the glaive moved toward it.
The crescent blade cut through the shield and continued into the goblin’s chest.
[Goblin Warrior eliminated]
Carlos laughed.
"So this is what that feels like."
The second Warrior hesitated.
That was a mistake.
Carlos attempted Heavy Cleave without possessing the ability.
The movement was rough and consumed far more strength than it should have, but the blade still passed through the leather armour like tofu.
[Goblin Warrior eliminated]